Cooper and Hammond first worked together in the band, A Primary Industry, during the mid-1980s.[1] Following the split of that band, they formed Ultramarine and released their debut album Folk in April 1990 on the Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule.[2] The duo's second long player, Every Man and Woman Is a Star (initially released in 1991 by Brainiak Records and reissued as an expanded version by Rough Trade in 1992),[2] was described by music writer Simon Reynolds in his book Energy Flash as "Perhaps the first and best stab at that seeming contradiction-in-terms, pastoral techno... all sun-ripened, meandering lassitude and undulant dub-sway tempos... like acid-house suffused with the folky-jazzy ambience of the Canterbury scene."[3]
Ultramarine in Essex, 2013
Live appearances during this period included a US tour in 1992 with Meat Beat Manifesto and Orbital and US and European tours in 1993 supporting Björk. The group's collaborative work has included a songwriting and recording partnership with Robert Wyatt,[2] recordings with Kevin Ayers and David McAlmont, plus numerous live and studio sessions with members of the London jazz scene, including Lol Coxhill, Elton Dean, Dave Green, Roger Beaujolais, Greg Heath and Jimmy Hastings.
Every Man and Woman Is a Star was followed by the albums United Kingdoms (1993), which features an extensive collaboration with Robert Wyatt, Bel Air (1995) and A User's Guide (1998).[2] After a long sabbatical, the group released their sixth album, This Time Last Year in 2013. Every Man and Woman Is a Star was reissued by Rough Trade in 2014 as a triple vinyl set, including a previously unreleased 1992 John PeelBBC Radio 1session.
Ultramarine simultaneously released a double-album Signals Into Space and a mini-album Meditations on Les Disques du Crépuscule in 2019. Signals Into Space includes songs written in collaboration with Anna Domino and contributions from saxophonist Iain Ballamy.
The group appears on Woo's album Arcturian Corridor (2020), remixing the track Arc II.
Musicians
Ian Harvey Cooper (born 15 August 1966, Derby, England)[2]
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